Seven graduate students studying adaptive reuse at RISD have reimagined uses for the art-deco Superman Building in Providence, Rhode Island.
The art-deco building was built in 1928 by Walker & Gillette and George Frederick Hall as the Industrial Trust Building. It has been vacant for almost eight years and is listed by the Providence Preservation Society (PPS) as an endangered property.
Its visual similarity to the Daily Planet office building in the DC comics series influenced its nickname as the Superman Building.
Saving Superman, the spring studio course for graduate students, was led by the Interior Architecture department head Liliane Wong and faculty members Elizabeth Debs and Jonathan Bell at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
Students worked with the PPS and the city planning office to each propose their own design for the interiors of the vacant structure. Each of the proposals was presented virtually on 22 May and can be viewed online. Read on for the seven designs:
The Second Act by Ankit Mandawewala
Ankit Mandawewala's proposal involves converting the building into several theatre and performance spaces. A jazz bar occupies the basement level and terraces would be situated on the higher floors.
Large LED screens cover a portion of the steel-framed structure to create a drive-in theatre on the city streets below.

Super Farmer by Shreya Anand
Shreya Anand has suggested converting the structure into a vertical urban farm that uses hydroponic technology. ...